Trump hits Sen. Donnelly hard on his home turf — and gives him a new nickname

President Donald Trump is declaring America "rockin'" as he kicks off a campaign rally in Elkhart, Indiana. Trump urged Indiana voters to put more republicans in office to continue the country's momentum on "jobs, on safety, on security." (May 10)
AP

ELKART, Ind. — President Trump made good on a promise last year to campaign against Sen. Joe Donnelly during a campaign rally Thursday in Elkhart, attacking the Democrat as "Sleepin' Joe" and a "swamp person."

Taking the stage at a gymnasium in Elkhart just two days after Indiana's brutal three-way Republican contest for Senate, Trump touted GOP nominee Mike Braun as a successful businessman who would reinforce his agenda in Washington.

"You think you have their vote," he said of Donnelly and other red-state Democrats in the Senate. "But they always raise their hand for the radical left of Nancy Pelosi."

At one point, Trump even handed the mic to Braun, who said: "You can count on me being a true reinforcement and the guy that is going to retire Joe Donnelly."

"Give me some reinforcements, please," Trump said during a speech that lasted about an hour.

The event was the opening salvo of a 2018 campaign season that will determine whether Trump and Republicans keep their slim majority in the U.S. Senate. Donnelly is widely considered one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the Senate and a top target for Republicans.

Donnelly is painting himself as a moderate, not putting too much distance between himself and Trump. But he did not vote for the GOP tax package — despite Trump's threat in September to campaign against him "like you wouldn't believe."

Donnelly says the $1.5 trillion-plus package was an overall bad deal for Hoosiers, though he declined to say this week whether it should be repealed.

“It's okay that the President and Vice President are here today for politics, but problems only get solved when you roll up your sleeves and put in the hard work," Donnelly said in a statement after Trump's speech. "I'm Indiana's hired help in the Senate because I don't work for any president or any political party — I work for Hoosiers, and that will never change."

Trump flew into South Bend on Air Force One, joined by Sen. Todd Young and Rep. Jackie Walorski, whose district includes Elkhart.

Vice President Pence and Braun greeted Trump at the airport. Pence and his wife, Karen, flew into town separately on Air Force Two along with several other members of the Indiana congressional delegation, including Rep. Todd Rokita, one of Braun's two opponents in what was called the nation's nastiest Senate primary.

Notably absent was Rep. Luke Messer, the third primary contender and the fifth-highest ranking Republican leader in the House.

Many Republicans had hoped all three candidates would appear at the event together to send a message of unity after the bruising primary. Messer's decision not to attend will likely cause questions to persist about whether Indiana Republicans will coalesce behind Braun after the primary.

President Donald Trump greets Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Mike Braun at a campaign rally on May 10, 2018, in Elkhart, Ind.(Photo: Scott Olson, Getty Images)

Bill Schrock, a Trump supporter who lives in Goshen, said he didn't vote for Braun but would have liked to see all three Republican Senate candidates on stage.

"I hated the negatives, the backstabbing of all three of them," he said. "I don't like that."

But Trump's ability to draw a crowd and energize his supporters was clear both inside and outside the packed 7,000-capacity North Side Gymnasium, about 11 miles from Donnelly's home in Granger.

As the crowd waited for the president, they chanted "build the wall" and "lock her up." Even when Trump gave a shout out to New England Patriot's head coach Bill Belichick, who leads a team that Colts' fans love to hate, some in the crowd cheered.

Outside, police put up yellow barricade tape separating a large group of protesters from those waiting in line. Many supporters never made it into the gym, but waited outside throughout the event anyway.

At one point, the line to get in stretched several blocks. Among those waiting were Mishawaka resident Jon Sharp and his wife, Missy, who works in the area's dominant recreational vehicle industry.

They said they didn’t come out to see President Obama during his two visits to the area while in office. They disagreed with him taking credit for the improved economy in Elkhart near the end of his term.

But with Trump, Sharp said, “it’s different because you can actually see the results.”

Elkhart, in northern Indiana, has become a popular presidential backdrop.

Obama made his first trip as president there in 2009 and returned two years ago to mark Elkhart's recovery from 20% unemployment. Elkhart's unique reliance on Americans buying RVs — nearly 90% of RVs are built there — makes it a laboratory for federal policy, from Obama's $800 billion economic stimulus package to Trump's tax cuts and tariffs.

Today, the area is basking in a low, 2.2% unemployment rate, the fifth-lowest in the U.S.

President Donald Trump speaks to supporters at a campaign rally on May 10, 2018, in Elkhart, Ind.(Photo: Scott Olson, Getty Images)

But while Trump and Pence touted the strong economy, few Americans feel they have personally benefited, according to a Monmouth University Poll released Wednesday. A majority of the 803 adults surveyed said they’ve been helped not much, or not at all, by the economic upturn.

RV business leaders in Elkhart praised Trump's tax cuts, but they are more leery of his new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, which threaten to increase the cost of production.

"The tax cut definitely is a benefit, an increase to our earnings when you look at paying less taxes," Scott Mereness, the president of Elkhart-based supplier Lippert Components Inc., said earlier this week. "But the tariffs have easily more than offset all of our tax savings."